I know, it’s been a little bit since my last post. I have been going through some writer’s block, and just couldn’t get anything written that I was happy with. I have actually started a few different articles, but half way through I would run out of things to say. I guess it happens sometimes. But here I am now, sitting down watching Doom (2005) with my son, and I can’t help but think about how much I miss cheat codes in video games. If you have read any of my previous blog posts, you can probably guess my age range. The kids would say I have hit “unc status” these days, and I’m “chopped” or something. With that, I have grown up within some of the best times to experience video games.
My first console was an Atari 2600, and I played the hell out of that. I distinctly remember the rubber around the joystick being completely worn out. It was Christmas 1988 when I got my NES, along with Super Mario Bros. 2, and that’s when gaming changed me forever. Anyone who grew up during that time knows what I’m talking about. There really was a lot of magic behind it. Not just because it comes from our childhoods, but because it was something no one had ever seen or experienced before.
This era of gaming saw bangers like Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Super Mario Bros. 3, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Ghosts ‘n Goblins. All of this was quickly followed up by the 16-bit era, giving us Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, Street Fighter 2, and Golden Axe. The real heyday for me, however, was with the release of the PS1 and N64. There were countless titles between those two consoles that absolutely changed how gaming was done, and really set the standards for future console generations. Some of my favorites were Shadows of the Empire, Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil (1 & 2), Ace Combat, Metal Gear Solid, Twisted Metal, and so many more. Enough name dropping though, let’s talk about the thing that I set out to discuss. Cheat codes.
I have never been a “hardcore” gamer, so I never had any qualms about playing on easy mode or using cheats. I like to experience the games, and sometimes its way funner with cheats. Going back to the NES, one of my favorites to use was the Konami Code. Me and my cousin loved plowing through Contra a few times a year, but 
neither of us were particularly good at the game. That cheat was the only way we could make it through to the end. However, the big one going around the playground back then was the Justin Bailey code for metroid. You can imagine my surprise when I typed that in and started the game as Samus in her famous pink leotard. I think my absolute personal favorite was the code to Mike Tyson though. I could get to him on my own, but I could never beat him. So it was quite a delight to just type in a code and avoid the gauntlet of crazy characters, going straight to the man himself. Almost 40 years later though, and I have still never knocked that dude out. He will always be undefeated against me.
Once we moved past the 8-bit and 16-bit era, cheat codes seemed to have entered new realms of possibilities. Goldeneye 007 comes to mind. I will never forget when I discovered I had somehow activated “DK Mode” in that game, resulting in everyone having a massive head and arms. I begged my mom to take me to the store so I could browse the magazine section for anything I could find that would help me earn more of those cheat options. In doing so I discovered various cheat codes for Shadows of the Empire. I can’t tell you how many hours I logged on that game after finding out about the “_Wampa__Stompa” code. I even took pictures of my screen to send to various gaming magazines to ask questions about what was happening as I was boundary breaking various levels. One magazine actually responded, turns out I was just clipping through the map. This was all new to me though, so I had no idea what clipping even was. I just thought I had found some crazy amazing thing that no one had ever found before.
Looking beyond cheat codes that were programmed into the game, lets venture into the land of altering a game’s code. As a kid, I never had a Game Genie, though I knew of them. I think I had borrowed or rented the one for the NES at one point, but I don’t really remember being that into it. However, I was all about that Gameshark. I eventually got one for both my PS1 and my N64, the PS1 version getting the most use though. I specifically remember wanting to get it because a friend of mine told me that he had heard you could unlock almost the entire game in the Resident Evil 2 demo disc. Me and my mom searched all the usual stores for one, but they were kind of hard to find. It wasn’t until we went to an outlet mall in the middle of nowhere that I was able to find one on clearance at Kay-Bee Toys of all places.
I remember going to the computer lab at school and printing out pages upon pages of Gameshark codes, some being dozens of lines in length. Oh yeah, and about that Resident Evil 2 demo disc, it really worked. I found the Gameshark codes for it, and it opened up a ton of the game. Granted, it was super glitchy and there were no enemies past a certain point, but you could explore a huge chunk of the game’s locations. If you’re a Twisted Metal fan you will know how awesome Minion was in the first game. This huge, imposing armored vehicle that would hunt you down and relentlessly fire a barrage of weapons at you. Well, with Gameshark you could actually play as him. Teenage me’s mind was blown.
I could go on and on about all the different cheat codes I used to use, but the fact of the matter is that I miss those days. Especially now, where stuff that cheat codes used to offer is just a microtransaction. We are so used to that stuff now, but back then it was all brand new. Who would ever have thought that you could press a combination of buttons to get more lives? Or enter a random name into the password screen to start as a scantily clad main character? Then we could buy peripherals that could change the game’s coding to make it do things that it normally wouldn’t be able to do? Seriously, how amazing was that when it first came out? We were all sailing in uncharted waters back then, and that’s what made everything so magical. It really was something you had to experience, because you just can’t recreate that sense of wonder these days.
